A study on determining the gastronomic experiences of chefs participating in GastroAntep in Gaziantep

Year 2025, Volume: 10 Issue: 3, 335 - 346

Adem Ademoğlu

https://doi.org/10.31822/jomat.2025-10-3-347

Abstract

This study aims to determine the factors influencing the formation of gastronomic experiences of gastronomy chefs who participated in the 2022 GastroAntep Gastronomy Festival. The research data were collected from both local and international gastronomy chefs who attended the GastroAntep Festival held in Gaziantep. A phenomenological design, one of the qualitative research approaches, was employed in this study. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a semi-structured interview form, conducted with 30 gastronomy chefs (24 local and 6 international) between September 15th and 18th, 2022. Purposive and convenience sampling methods were used to select the participants, who were included in the study voluntarily. In this context, content and descriptive analyses were adopted as the data analysis methods. The analysis of the data involved both descriptive and content analysis techniques. According to the findings, the factors affecting the formation of the chefs' gastronomic experiences, based on their views, are categorized into two main groups: factors negatively influencing their gastronomic experiences and factors positively influencing their gastronomic experiences, encompassing a total of 28 codes. Under the theme of experiences negatively affecting chefs' gastronomic experiences, participants highlighted codes such as excessive cultural interaction, crowded venues, product and price imbalance, transportation and parking issues, high prices (expensiveness), and intense flavors. On the other hand, the codes frequently mentioned among factors positively influencing chefs' gastronomic experiences included historical texture, interaction, perception of authenticity, nostalgic elements, flavor elements, food memories, and sustainable cuisine. Lastly, the study discusses theoretical and practical implications.

Keywords

Gastronomic experience , Gastronomy festival , Gastronomic events , Gaziantep

Ethical Statement

Etik kurul dosyası eklenmiştir.

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